Puppies Dogs Canines

Bringing home a new puppy is always an exciting and fun time for the family. The whole family loves playing with the new puppy. Of course, there is one aspect of the new puppy no one likes-the puppy thinks the whole world is his toilet. Crate training puppies is the easiest and best way to deal with the whole house training process. I used to do it the old fashioned newspaper on the floor way (with predictably “crappy” results).The paper on the floor technique was a sloppy way to go about it, but better than nothing. After stepping on a particularly nasty “accident” in the middle of the night that was deviously hidden by the dark, I decided I better look into getting a crate for my puppy.

The crate training method for puppy house training is a system that greatly reduces the number of “accidents” that will most likely happen around the house before your puppy has been thoroughly house trained.  You are asked to keep your new puppy inside his crate all the time unless you are actively supervising him-such as it’s playtime  or dinner time or time for some training. That’s because it seems that if you aren’t actively watching him, that is when he is most likely to leave a puddle or drop a bomb on the carpet.

• When crate training your puppy, try to keep his crate in the room you are spending most of the day in. If you work in a home office, for instance, place the kennel in the office with you, so your puppy feels more secure.  By being close to the puppy you’ll know when it is time to take him out for relief. Except for potty breaks or when you have a couple hours free for a supervised play time you’ll want to keep him in the crate-don’t let him out just because he is bored and whining .

• Your puppy will always need to go potty very shortly after waking up from a nice nap, so be alert for when you hear him wake up and make some noises.  He will also need to go within 30 minutes or so after eating or drinking, so don’t put him back into is crate if he has just had a meal until he has first taken care of business.Training him to use the same area you have determined as his spot every time you take him out reinforces the idea of going then and there.

• It is good to try to create a routine of  eating, playing, exercise and training so the puppy gets plenty of stimulation when he is not in his crate. This way, he’ll take a nice long nap-up to a couple hours, and he won’t be bored in his crate.

• The key to making the crate training work best for your puppy is to be very consistent with the training. If you aren’t good about keeping him in his crate when unsupervised, accidents are going to happen. You don’t want any accidents at all to happen, because once they do, the puppy will be able to smell that spot even after you have cleaned it up, and may want to revisit it again.  Remember, if your puppy does have an occasional accident, don’t hit him or yell at him. If you do catch him in the act you should firmly say “No”  and try to get him to finish outside in his spot if possible.  Remember, the potty training should always focus on praise and reward for a good job-using the right spot-but don’t get negative if there is an occasional setback. Your results with the crate training method for house breaking your puppy will be best if you really keep to the system.

I found the crate training method worked much better than the old newspaper on the floor technique. Maybe my pup was a quick learner, but within a couple weeks or so, he was house training.  I did lose a little sleep at first if he whined at night, but I made sure the puppy didn’t eat late or drink very much before going to bed for the night, so that wasn’t as big a problem as I would have thought. If you always make the crate seem like a den, rather than a place to put your puppy when you are mad at him, he will have a good attitude about going in there, and you shouldn’t have the whining problem some puppies have when in the crate.

So, if you are about to get or just got  a new puppy you will be smart to use this crate training method for house training your new pet. To learn a lot more about the house training of your puppy, I highly recommend the Ultimate Guide to House Training book. This excellent book gives you a very thorough blueprint on how to overcome the house training hurdles new puppy owners must face(check out my review).The Ultimate House Training Guide Review.

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